Aiding device and system for stably producing food-grade chlorine dioxide solution with high purity

ABSTRACT

The present invention discloses a flow generating device for an electrolytic cell, comprising a plurality of helical circulation channels and a coolant supply unit. The plurality of helical circulation channels are configured to be provide at an outer peripheries of an electrolytic cell that is for producing gaseous chlorine dioxide, and each of the helical circulation channels is provided with at least one coolant inlet. The coolant supply unit is for providing a coolant. When a coolant from the coolant supply unit is flowed into the helical circulation channels through the coolant inlet, flow is generated in an electrolyte in the electrolytic cell. The generated flows agitate the electrolyte thereby the voids appearing during the generation of the gaseous chlorine dioxide can be quickly occupied, so as to promote the efficiency of the electrolysis.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is related to an aiding device and system for an electrolysis device, especially a flow generating device used in electrolytic cell for electrolysis in which a saturated solution containing a composite material is included, so that when electrolysis, the voids appearing during the generation of the gaseous chlorine dioxide can be quickly occupied with the electrolyte. The gaseous chlorine dioxide produced by the electrolytic cell is then mixed with the pre-processed pure water. The purpose of processing the water is to reduce the contaminants in the water and make the water slightly-alkaline, and thereby enhancing the efficiency of the electrolysis, reducing the internal loss of chlorine dioxide solution during the mixing of the gaseous chlorine dioxide with water, and increasing the pH value of the chlorine dioxide solution without corroding the related pipe lines that supply the chlorine dioxide solution.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Currently, the byproduct, chlorinated (ClO²⁻), the current chlorine dioxide production procedure by means of the molten salt electrolysis can be reduced to be undetected. However, there are still other byproducts produced during electrolysis such as chlorate (ClO³⁻), hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂) so that there is a need to make improvement. There is other technical problem such as the content of chlorine (Cl₂) is too high, so that the purity of the product is not stable and its pH value is too low.

Moreover, as to current finished product of chlorine dioxide solution, the standard content for the heavy metal content in the produced chlorine dioxide solution have not been strictly prescribed according to environmental protection laws or regulations. Consequently, the resulting chlorine dioxide solution contains harmful substances and carcinogens such as chlorate (ClO₃ ⁻), chlorite (ClO₂ ⁻), hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂) as mentioned above.

In general, finished product of chlorine dioxide solution has a pH value of about 2.2 to 2.5, and such acidity will cause severe corrosion to devices such as steel pipelines, plastic pipelines, or plastic storage tank, which would be strongly oxidized or acidified by the chlorine dioxide solution, resulting in shortening the use time of these devices. On the other hand, the use of titanium or stainless steel will make the cost too high, although the durability is raised and it is also required to prevent the public security issues when the pipe lines made of titanium or stainless steel are damaged. Moreover, when the drinking water is processed, its high acidity will cause damage to the health of human body. In addition, when the chlorine dioxide solution is used in food sterilization, pipe lines of the air conditioners, air pollution processing devices and other devices, its high acidity will have a negative impact on these devices described above, so that there is a need to improve management of the water quality.

During the electrolysis, since some of the electrolyte containing the composite material (raw material) disappear instantaneously when the gaseous chlorine dioxide (product) is produced, and there is a high temperature difference between the electrolyte with high temperature around the heating element and the electrolyte with low temperature cooled by and around the cooling device, it would cause a transversely-directed strong heat convection around the heating element, and would consequently make the lower half part of the electrolyte in the electrolytic cell unable to be carried upwardly to the upper half part of the electrolyte, resulting in making the amount of electrolyte replenishment unstable. Further, although there is a slight temperature difference between the upper and lower parts of the electrolyte, which is helpful to generate a weak flow. However, the transversely-directed strong heat convection described above cannot be offset by such weak flow, so that when the produced gaseous chlorine dioxide is extracted to the storage tank, the amount of produced gaseous chlorine dioxide will not stable at different times, and consequently the quality of the production of chlorine dioxide solution is not stable and time of electrolysis is required to be prolonged, which cannot meet the requirement of standard electrolysis regarding unified amount, time and purity.

When the water (unprocessed groundwater, tap water . . . etc.) is mixed with gaseous chlorine dioxide to form an chlorine dioxide solution, chlorine dioxide would sterilize, oxidize or decompose heavy metals, chemicals, microorganisms and other ions in the water. In other words, in the mixing process mentioned above, because the amount of chlorine dioxide itself began to decrease, when plurality of devices for electrolysis are operated at the same time, the operation time of the electrolysis is required to be prolonged and the purity of the produced chlorine dioxide is unstable, so the chlorine dioxide solutions produced from different processes would have different qualities, and thereby affecting the efficiency of the electrolysis and making it difficult to reach the requirement of mass production of the chlorine dioxide solution.

Therefore, in order to overcome the above technical problems, the present invention is provided.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The main object of the present invention is to provide an aiding device and system to agitate the electrolyte in the electrolytic cell, so during electrolysis, the voids appearing during the generation of the gaseous chlorine dioxide can be quickly occupied to promote the efficiency of the electrolysis. The water to be mixed with the gaseous chlorine dioxide is first processed by the combination of different processing devices to produce processed water having small molecules, so that the microbes, heavy metals or chemical substances thereof could be significantly reduced and its pH value could become slightly-alkaline. Consequently, the oxidizing power of the chlorine dioxide is maintained while the purifying power of the chlorine dioxide solution is greatly improved, and the use time of relevant device is extended. Moreover, the aiding device and system of the present invention is further provided with a guiding device for generating different degrees and types of flows according to different composite materials for electrolysis and the electrolyte prepared in varies of conditions including different degrees of temperature, humidity and purity of pure water.

In order to solve above problems and fulfill the above object, the present invention provides a flow generating device for an electrolytic cell, comprising: a plurality of helical circulation channels, configured to be provided at an outer peripheries of an electrolytic cell that is used for producing gaseous chlorine dioxide, and each of the helical circulation channels is provided with at least one coolant inlet; and a coolant supply unit for providing a coolant respectively into the helical circulation channels through the coolant inlet, so as to generate flows of an electrolyte in the electrolytic cell. The generated flows agitate the electrolyte, so that the voids appearing during the generation of the gaseous chlorine dioxide can be quickly occupied, so as to promote the efficiency of the electrolysis. In one embodiment, the flow generating device further comprises a directional valve, wherein the directional valve is used to change the direction of the flow of the coolant, so as to control the coolant to pass through the plurality of helical circulation channels surrounding the electrolytic cell respectively or simultaneously, so as to generate varying degrees of flows. In implementation, each of the helical circulation channels further has at least one coolant outlet for the coolant to flow out of the plurality of helical circulation channel.

In another embodiment, the present invention provides an apparatus for producing chlorine dioxide solution, comprising: an electrolytic cell for producing gaseous chlorine dioxide; the flow generating device for an electrolytic cell; a water processing system, for providing pure water; and a mixing tank, for receiving the gaseous chlorine dioxide from the electrolytic cell and mixing the gaseous chlorine dioxide with the pure water provided by the water processing system, so as to produce chlorine dioxide solution. In implementation, the water processing system further comprises a processing device for processing water from a water supply source, so as to produce the pure water. In implementation, the processing device comprises at least one processing unit made by at least one of aluminium monoxide ceramic, titania ceramic, zirconia ceramic and carbon nanotube, wherein the at least one processing unit is adapted to process the water from the water supply source. In implementation, the processing device comprises a first processing unit and a second processing unit; the first processing unit is made by at least one of aluminium monoxide, titania ceramic and zirconia ceramic; the second processing unit is made by carbon nanotube; the first processing unit and the second processing unit are connected with each other for processing the water from the water supply source respectively.

In implementation, the processing device further comprises a storage tank provided between the first processing unit and the second processing unit for storing water processed by the first processing unit first, and then supplying the water processed by the first processing unit to the second processing unit.

In another embodiment, the storage tank is further provided with a third processing unit for filtering the water from the first processing unit and then supplying the filtered water to the second processing unit. In implementation, the third processing unit is a RO reverse osmosis water purifier.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a structural view of the flow generating device provided in the electrolytic cell 10 of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic view showing the flow generating device and the apparatus for producing chlorine dioxide solution of the present invention.

The embodiments of the present invention are described in details as follows in accordance with accompanying figures. The same symbol in each figure indicates the same or equivalent members.

DETAILED DESCRIPTIONS OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Referring to FIG. 1, the electrolytic cell 16 of the present invention is provided with an electrolytic heating element 16, which is located in the upper half part of the electrolytic cell 10 (vertical type). An anode 14 is provided with a metal net having an outer layer electroplated with corrosion-resistant precious metals such as iridium, ruthenium or a combination thereof for electrolysis, and the cathode 11 is made of titanium and may be other metal in prior art. The anode 14 is coated with circular multi-layers with the same length and different diameters around the main shaft of the anode 14, so that the anode 14 has net of circular multi-layers with a plurality of meshes. The length of the electrolytic heating element 16 is less than half of the length of the electrolytic cell 10 in the vertical direction. The height of the poured electrolyte is higher than the height of the anode 14. The electrolyte is poured until the height of the electrolyte is higher than the height of a welded position of an electrode 15 and the electrolytic heating element 16. In another embodiment, the weight percentage of the ruthenium and iridium contained in the anode 14 is 2:1.

During the electrolysis, a gaseous chlorine dioxide is generated due to a chemical reaction. The electrolytic method used in the present invention is an electrochemical method, and the used cation-exchange membrane is provided between the inside of the electrolytic cell 10 and the anode 14, which is not shown in the figures of the present invention. The main purpose of placing the cation-exchange membrane in the electrolytic cell 10 is to avoid the contact of the chlorine gas generated during the electrolysis with the hydrogen gas, so as to reduce the rate of the disproportionation reaction and to pass the sodium ions that do not participate in the generation of the gaseous chlorine dioxide to a tank of the cathode 11.

Referring to FIG. 1, an outer periphery of the electrolytic cell 10 is provided with three helical circulation channels 24 a, 24 b and 24 c surrounding the electrolytic cell 10, so as to provide helically circular flows from bottom to top surrounding the electrolytic cell 10 independently. When a coolant from a cooling machine 71 is flowed into the helical circulation channels 24 a, 24 b and 24 c through coolant inlets 20A, 20B and 20C, the flow is generated in the electrolytic cell 10, so the voids appearing during the electrolysis can be quickly occupied by agitating the electrolyte via the generated flows, so as to enhance the efficiency of the electrolysis. The cooling chamber 20 is provided around the outer periphery of the electrolytic tank 10, and then the coolant is flowed out to the cooling machine 71 for recirculation through the coolant outlets 20 a, 20 b and 20 c. By the way of such independent heat exchange with large range and three sections, the flows generated in the electrolytic in the electrolytic cell 10 have such different directions and types, so the lower part of the electrolytic could be carried to the periphery of the electrolytic heating element 16 located in the upper part of the electrolytic by the generated flows, and thereby the appearing voids are quickly occupied during electrolysis, consequently, it can make the product of chlorine dioxide solution with more stable quality and efficiency, and can shorten the electrolysis time. Moreover, in the another embodiment, at least two of or all of the helical circulation channels may also be spaced from each other, so as to produce varying degrees of flows. In another embodiment, the helical circulation channels of the present invention may also be set into two, four or more than four according to desired purpose, so as to produce varying degrees and types of flows.

Referring to FIG. 2, in another embodiment, a mixing tank 30 has a cooling tank 40 at the outer periphery of the same, and the cooling tank 40 is provided with a helical circulation channel 44. As shown in FIG. 2, the gaseous chlorine dioxide produced by the electrolytic cell 10 is extracted to the mixing tank 30 through the chlorine dioxide output pipe 13 by an air extracting pump 33 and mix it with water, so to achieve the desired concentration of chlorine dioxide solution and complete the process. A water processing system 8 process the water used for mixing with the gaseous chlorine dioxide before above the gas-liquid mixing is performed. The water processing system 8 comprises a first processing unit 811 and a second processing unit 812, and the first processing unit 811 and the second processing unit 812 are connected with each other for processing the water respectively into the pure slightly-alkaline water. First, the first processing unit 811 processes the water, and then the second processing unit 812 processes the water to produce the pure water, the pH value of the processed water (the pure water) is between 7 to 8.5. In one embodiment, the first processing unit 811 and the second processing unit 812 are both made by at least one of aluminium monoxide, titania ceramic and zirconia ceramic, such as the following combinations: aluminium monoxide and titania ceramic, titania ceramic and zirconia ceramic or aluminium monoxide, titania ceramic and zirconia ceramic. The impurities of titania ceramic, zirconia ceramic and aluminium monoxide are removed by high-temperature calcination and magnetization, so as to generate micro-pores, and the micro-pores have connections therebetween. Or, in another embodiment, the first processing unit 811 and the second processing unit 812 may both be made by carbon nanotube that is made by graphite calcining at 3000° C., which can emit a far infrared ray of 10¹² to 10¹⁴ HZ/sec. Or, in another embodiment, the first processing unit 811 is made by at least one of aluminium monoxide, titania ceramic and zirconia ceramic, and the second processing unit 812 is made by carbon nanotube. Or, in another embodiment, the first processing unit 811 and the second processing unit 812 may have a nanoceramic filter respectively to process the water from the water supply source respectively. Therefore, microbes, calcium, magnesium, calcareous, mud, rust, bleach, pesticide, chlorine, odor, chemical substances, carcinogens and so on in the water are removed by the above device made of at least one of aluminium monoxide, titania ceramic, zirconia ceramic and carbon nanotube. The water processing system 8 further comprises an oxidation-reduction unit (not shown), a hydrogen ion potential reduction unit (not shown) or a acid-base neutralization unit (not shown) for converting the water to produce the slightly-alkaline pure water with in a way of oxidation reduction, hydrogen ion reduction or acid-base neutralization, while the slightly-alkaline pure water would not cause corrosion to any kinds of pipeline.

In order to overcome the difficulty that the water processing system 8 would take more time to deal with the water provided by the water supply source, the water processing system 8 is further provided with a storage tank 813 provided between the first processing unit 811 and the second processing unit 812 for storing water processed by the first processing unit 811, and the storage tank 813 is provided with a third processing unit 8131, wherein the third processing unit 8131 is a filter such as RO reverse osmosis water purifier, so as to filter the water and purify the same. And then, the filtered and purified water in the storage tank 813 is supplied to the second processing unit 812 by the water supply pressure pump 85 for the second processing, so the processing process for the water in the present invention is carried out in three stages. The first processing unit 811 and the second processing unit 812 may be arranged in a form of a plurality of processing devices in parallel or in series. For example, a plurality of first processing units 811 are connected in parallel in order to process a large amount of water supply when it is required to process a large amount of water at the same time; or the plurality of first processing units 811 are connected in series in order to enhance the effectiveness of these processing units of the present invention in order to solve the problem that the microorganisms, impurities or contaminants in the pure water are too much. In addition, if the demand for the production of chlorine dioxide solution is less, the storage tank 813 may not be provided Similarly, the combination that comprising at least one of the first processing unit 811, the second processing unit 812 and the storage tanks 813 together with the oxidation-reduction unit 814 or the acid-base neutralization unit described above may be used according to the production demand for chlorine dioxide solution, so as to achieve the technical effect of the present invention described above. In addition, the produced pure water processed by these devices disclosed by the present invention is proved to reduce the E. coli by 90%, and the total number of bacteria can be reduced by 50%.

Referring to FIG. 2, the present invention further comprises a first directional valve 41, a second directional valve 42 and a third directional valve 43, and these directional valves are used to change the direction of the flow of the coolant. The user can determine the degree and type of flow to be formed according to the composition of the electrolyte, the anode and the cathode, so as to control the coolant from the coolant supply unit 70 to pass through the plurality of helical circulation channels surrounding the electrolytic cell 10 respectively or simultaneously. Or the first directional valve 41, the second directional valve 42 and the third directional valve 43 may be opened or closed respectively in a different time sequence, so as to generate varying degrees of flows. Moreover, in another embodiment, when the helical circulation channel of the present invention is set to be plurality of sections (for example, four sections), each of the helical circulation channels could be corresponding to only one of these directional valves, or, a directional valve is set to correspond to the plurality of helical circulation channels, so as to increase variation of the type and degree of the flows of the present invention. Moreover, the pipeline that passes through the mixing tank 30 differs from the pipeline that passes through the electrolytic cell 10. Referring to FIG. 2, the fourth directional valve 45 is used for opening or closing the pipeline passing the coolant from the coolant supply unit 70 to the mixing tank 30. The fifth directional valve 46 is used for opening or closing the pipeline passing the coolant from the coolant supply unit 70 to the electrolytic cell 10. Thus, the cooling operation of the mixing tank 30 and the electrolytic cell 10 are independent and do not interfere with each other.

The operation of the present invention is described as follows. The electrolytic cell 10 and the mixing tank 30 are set as an electrolytic working set, and the plurality of electrolytic working sets can be operated together with one water supply system 8 and one coolant supply unit 70. Firstly, the water from a water supply source is supplied to the first processing unit and is processed, and then the water processed by the first processing unit 811 is supplied to the storage tank 813 and is purified in a way of RO reverse osmosis and is stored in the storage tank 813. The water stored in the storage tank 813 is supplied to the second processing unit 812 by the water supply pressure pump 85 and is processed by the second processing unit 812 and the oxidation-reduction unit 814 to form pure slightly-alkaline water. Then, the pure water is outputted to the mixing tank 30, and the pure water pre-operation is completed.

When the operation for electrolysis begins, the coolant is supplied from the coolant supply unit 70 to pass through the first helical circulation channel 24 a, the second helical circulation channel 24 b and the third helical circulation channel 24 c after setting the opening order of the first directional valve 41, the second directional valve 42 and the third directional valve 43 in accordance with the characteristics of the electrolyte, so as to generate a flow in the electrolyte in the electrolytic cell 10. The generated flow agitates the electrolyte, so the voids appearing during the generation of the gaseous chlorine dioxide can be quickly occupied and the high temperature generated in the electrolytic operation can be cooled. The produced gas of chlorine dioxide is pumped outwardly into the storage tank 30 along the chlorine dioxide output tube 13 via the chlorine dioxide outlet 12 by means of the air extracting pump 33. The produced gas of chlorine dioxide and the pure water are mixed by the gas-liquid mixing mechanism (not shown), so as to form a chlorine dioxide solution. If a temperature controlling sensor (not shown) provided in the storage tank 30 detects that the temperature at this time is higher than the preset value (8 to 11□), the temperature controlling sensor would send a signal to the electronic control device (not shown), and thereby making the coolant supplying pump 73 to pump the coolant for cooling. Then, the coolant flowing into the helical circulation channel 44 of the cooling tank 40 cools the storage tank 30 entirely in a helically circular way until the temperature controlling sensor stop sending the signal. During the process of producing gaseous chlorine dioxide in the electrolytic cell 10 and process of extracting gaseous chlorine dioxide by the air extracting pump 33, if the electronic control device receives the signal indicating that the temperature is rising from the temperature controlling sensor, the above steps will be repeated, and the coolant will flow into the helical circulation channel surrounding the cooling tank 40 of the storage tank 30 by the coolant supplying pump 73 for cooling. As the electrolysis operation is started, the water processing system 8 also again performs the above-mentioned step of processing the water from the water supply source, and the water is processed to produce the pure slightly-alkaline water and then the pure slightly-alkaline water is outputted to another mixing tank to be used for another electrolytic working set.

Regarding the electrolytic operation of the present invention, the water processing system 8 pre-processes the water required for the mixing tank 30 in group A, and then supplies the pure water (the processed water) to the mixing tank 30 in group A. In an embodiment of the present invention, in the operation of the first round, the storage tank 30 in group A is arranged with the electrolytic cell 10 in group A to cooperate together. When the process of electrolysis begins in the electrolytic cell 10 in group A, the water processing system 8 pre-processes the water required for the mixing tank 30 in group B, and then supplies the pure water (the processed water) to the mixing tank 30 in group B. When the mixing tank 30 in group B receives the pure water from the water processing system 8, the operation of the first round completes and the operation of the second round is ready to start. The operation of the next round and so on would go on continually. Therefore, the entire operation process would proceed reasonably without the waiting time in the prior art. Moreover, the concentration (3000 ppm) of the finished product of chlorine dioxide solution of the present invention may be adjusted into 1000 ppm in shipment, so as to reduce the volatilization of the finished product and facilitating the cleaning of the container that contains the finished product of chlorine dioxide solution.

Thus, the present invention has the following advantages:

-   -   1. The water to be mixed with the gaseous chlorine dioxide is         processed by the combination of different processing devices (at         least one of the first processing unit, the second processing         unit and the third processing unit) together with setting the         same in parallel or the in series, so as to produce pure         slightly-alkaline water having small molecules, and the         microbes, heavy metals and chemical substances thereof could be         significantly reduced, maintaining and optimizing the oxidizing         power of chlorine dioxide, and reducing the acidity of chlorine         dioxide (it is slightly-alkaline). In other words, the processed         pure water has small molecules and does not contain too much         microorganisms, heavy metals, and chemicals . . . etc., so         chlorine dioxide itself does not react with these microorganisms         and substances, and consequently it could maintain the oxidizing         power of chlorine dioxide, so as to greatly improve the quality         of the finished product of chlorine dioxide solution and prolong         the use time of the relevant devices.     -   2. By the flows generated from a plurality of set helical         circulation channels, the voids appearing during the generation         of the gaseous chlorine dioxide can be quickly occupied, so as         to promote the efficiency of the electrolysis.     -   3. By changing the direction of the flow of the coolant through         the directional valves, the coolant would be controlled to pass         through the plurality of helical circulation channels         surrounding the electrolytic cell respectively or         simultaneously, so as to generate varying degrees of flows         according to different kinds of electrolytic method and         electrolytic composite materials. 

What is claimed is:
 1. A flow generating device for an electrolytic cell, comprising: a plurality of helical circulation channels, configured to be provide at an outer peripheries of an electrolytic cell that is for producing gaseous chlorine dioxide, and each of the helical circulation channels is provided with at least one coolant inlet; and a coolant supply unit for providing a coolant respectively into the helical circulation channels through the coolant inlet, so as to generate flows of an electrolyte in the electrolytic cell.
 2. The flow generating device for an electrolytic cell according to claim 1, further comprising a directional valve, wherein the directional valve is used to change the direction of the flow of the coolant, so as to control the coolant to pass through the plurality of helical circulation channels surrounding the electrolytic cell respectively or simultaneously, so as to generate varying degrees of flows.
 3. The flow generating device for an electrolytic cell according to claim 1, wherein each of the helical circulation channels further has at least one coolant outlet for the coolant to flow out of the plurality of helical circulation channel.
 4. An apparatus for producing chlorine dioxide solution, comprising: an electrolytic cell for producing gaseous chlorine dioxide; the flow generating device for an electrolytic cell according to claim 1, a water processing system, for providing pure water; and a mixing tank, for receiving the gaseous chlorine dioxide from the electrolytic cell and mixing the gaseous chlorine dioxide with the pure water provided by the water processing system, so as to produce chlorine dioxide solution.
 5. The apparatus for producing chlorine dioxide solution according to claim 4, wherein the water processing system further comprises a processing device for processing water from a water supply source, so as to produce the pure water.
 6. The apparatus for producing chlorine dioxide solution according to claim 5, wherein the processing device comprises at least one processing unit made by at least one of aluminium monoxide ceramic, titania ceramic, zirconia ceramic and carbon nanotube, wherein the at least one processing unit is adapted to process the water from the water supply source.
 7. The apparatus for producing chlorine dioxide solution according to claim 6, wherein the processing device comprises a first processing unit and a second processing unit; the first processing unit is made by at least one of aluminium monoxide, titania ceramic and zirconia ceramic; the second processing unit is made by carbon nanotube; the first processing unit and the second processing unit are connected with each other for processing the water from the water supply source respectively.
 8. The apparatus for producing chlorine dioxide solution according to claim 7, wherein the processing device further comprises a storage tank provided between the first processing unit and the second processing unit for storing water processed by the first processing unit first, and then supplying the water processed by the first processing unit to the second processing unit.
 9. The apparatus for producing chlorine dioxide solution according to claim 8, wherein the storage tank is further provided with a third processing unit for filtering the water from the first processing unit and then supplying the filtered water to the second processing unit.
 10. The apparatus for producing chlorine dioxide solution according to claim 9, wherein the third processing unit is a RO reverse osmosis water purifier. 